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European countries may need to answer for their “double standards” in the Israel-Gaza war, the Belgian Prime Minister warned on Tuesday.
During a visit to London to meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Alexander De Croo called out the civilian death toll in the “atrocious” war in Gaza, as it reached more than 25,400 people.
European leaders turning a blind eye to Israel's war in Gaza put the EU’s reputation overseas at risk, Mr De Croo said.
“We as Europeans are being challenged all the time on whether we have double standards or not,” he said.
“That question is being asked by some countries, and I think we should have an answer,” he said, responding to a question from The National at an event at the London School of Economics, which took place after his meeting with Mr Sunak.
Belgium began a diplomatic dispute with Israel in November after it criticised the civilian death toll in Gaza.
The country is set to preside over the European Council from January, taking over from Spain, another critic of Israel’s military campaign.
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, renewed pressure on Israel to accept a two-state solution on Monday during a summit in Brussels aimed at paving the way to peace in the Middle East.
Yet major leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are yet to call for an immediate end to Israel's military campaign.
Mr De Croo defended his position, repeating his calls for a ceasefire and a revival of the peace process.
“When you have that quantity of human lives lost, that demands a ceasefire," he said. "That is our position.
“If there is a moment to talk about a two-state solution it's now, and let's use that moment to do it."
Mr De Croo said he would not take a partisan view of the conflict.
“Very often we are being pushed into one camp or the other. I am not in one camp.
“I can at the same time say that the terrorist attacks of Hamas are atrocious, that hostages need to be released immediately, unconditionally.
“I can at the same time say that with the military operations, more needs to be done to have no more civilian casualties."
100 days of Israel Gaza war - in pictures
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Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA -
Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images -
Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo -
Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo -
The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP -
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP -
A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP -
The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo -
A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP -
Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP -
Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP -
November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP -
Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo -
Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo -
An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo -
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo
Lamenting the “cruel” detainment of hostages, he said that negotiations had been more effective in securing their release than Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
“Hostages have been liberated a few weeks ago … because people talked to one another,” Mr De Croo said.
He questioned whether Israel’s military campaign in Gaza would effectively ensure Israel’s security in the future.
“I understand that Israel wants to eliminate the terrorist threat to its population; that’s a very legitimate concern," he said.
"But are current operations contributing to that? I need to be convinced."
Mr De Croo was in London meeting Mr Sunak to discuss a security agreement, under which UK law enforcement members would be sent to Belgium to deal with people-smuggling operations.
The pair also discussed “solutions” to illegal migration, which included “partnerships with third countries”, a statement from Mr Sunak's office said.
They agreed to continue working together on sanctions to inhibit Russia's war machine, and to use assets seized from Moscow to support the rebuilding of Ukraine.
Turning to developments in the Red Sea, they agreed it “was critical to take strong action to defend freedom of navigation and counter Iran’s malign activity in the region”, the statement said.
Belgium would continue to work with the UK despite its departure from the EU, Mr De Croo said after the meeting.
“We are aligned. We are in a different decision system. Do we know that we will work together and that we need to work together? There is absolutely no doubt,” he said.
Co-operation was needed to uphold an “international order” that had come under threat due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the rise of populist parties.
Ukraine-Russia conflict latest - in pictures
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Firefighters attend a blaze after a Russian attack in Kyiv. AP -
A destroyed car in a courtyard of a multi-storey apartment building after what local authorities say was a Ukrainian military strike in the city of Belgorod, Russia. Reuters -
Ukrainian prisoners of war after a prisoner exchange near Sumy, Ukraine. AP -
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko visits a residential building damaged during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters -
The Kharkiv Palace Hotel after a Russian missile strike. Reuters -
Ukrainian rescuers after a Russian drone attack on an office building in downtown Kharkiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman operates an anti-aircraft machine gun after an air raid alarm in the Kyiv region. EPA -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking with commanders during his trip to the Donetsk region. EPA -
Ukrainian servicemen fire a self-made rocket launcher on a front line in the Donetsk area. EPA -
A woman searches for household items in her burnt-out apartment, recently hit by shelling in Donetsk. Reuters -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a news conference in Kyiv. Bloomberg -
A firefighter at the site of a damaged building after shelling in Donetsk. EPA -
A worker carries out repairs to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration that was damaged as a result of a Russian missile in Odesa. AFP -
Ukrainian troops prepare anti-aircraft artillery from their position on a front line near Zaporizhzhia. EPA -
A woman with her cat, which was saved from an apartment building damaged by recent shelling in Donetsk. Reuters -
A howitzer is fired at Russian positions in Donetsk. Reuters -
Civilians take shelter in a gym after their apartments were damaged in a drone attack in Odesa. AFP -
Firefighters work at destroyed houses following shelling in Donetsk. EPA -
A Ukrainian soldier looks out for danger near Bakhmut. AFP -
Members of the Siberian Battalion carrying out military exercises with the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Bloomberg
“Between parts of the world that have so much in common, democracy, a rules-based order, the rule of law, a free market, the universality of human rights … there is gravity,” Mr De Croo said.
“It is something we can fight or something we can lose."
The EU’s influence overseas was also essential for its support of Ukraine, Mr De Croo said, to ensure that Russia did not bypass economic sanctions through other countries.
“Maintaining economic sanctions is important. It does takes time,” he said.
“Making sure there’s no back door to the economic sanctions means using our influence throughout the world."
European unity on Ukraine is needed to defeating Moscow, Mr De Croo said, as he called for the continued supply of weapons to Kyiv.
“The unity which in Moscow was being doubted, it still is there. I do not see any signs on the horizon that it is under pressure,” he said.
But Mr De Croo lamented hesitancy to support Ukraine among some EU members.
“That really is a bottleneck today.”
